Location: Tavoran Mountain Range – Military Exclusion Zone, Tavara
The icy wind cut through layers of thermal gear as the Blackwood convoy ascended the snow-crusted ridge. Vehicles adapted for rough terrain crunched over frozen gravel and ice. Visibility was minimal—just gray mist and jagged peaks stabbing toward a bleak sky.
Damien stood at the head of the lead Snowcat, a pair of high-tech goggles scanning infrared signatures across the ridgeline. Nora rode beside him, her gloved hands steadying a tablet connected to Aria's remote AI system. Cyrus, as always, flanked them with an assault rifle strapped across his chest and a blade sheathed at his back.
"Temperature's dropping fast," Cyrus muttered. "We shouldn't be out here for more than 10 hours. Storm's brewing."
"We don't need 10," Damien said. "We just need one clean extraction."
Nora's voice was calm but urgent. "The pulse signature's unstable. The shard is below ground—beneath an old, abandoned cold war surveillance station the Tavaran government shut down decades ago. Satellite scans show structural anomalies, possible tunnels beneath the mountain."
Aria's voice buzzed through the comms. "Damien, the area is riddled with heat signatures… but no lifeforms. Which means drones. Possibly weaponized sentries—early-gen models, but still dangerous. I'll try to disable them remotely, but once you're underground, you're on your own."
Cyrus cracked his knuckles. "Just how I like it."
The team reached the outpost ruins—twisted steel, corroded bunkers, and remnants of a forgotten war. Damien stepped into the lead, cutting through a collapsed blast door with a plasma torch.
Nora followed, gripping her sidearm. "This place… it feels like something's watching us."
"Because something probably is," Damien replied. His voice was low, but resolute. "And it wants us to know."
The deeper they descended, the colder it got—unnaturally cold. Frost coated the inner walls despite geothermal vents that should've kept the lower levels warm. They reached a central chamber sealed by a titanium vault door. On its surface was etched a strange emblem: a perfect circle intersected by seven slashes. The same symbol Aria had extracted from the encrypted Architect message.
"Damien…" Nora whispered. "This wasn't just a research station. This was a vault. A prison."
Cyrus approached the biometric scanner. "Want me to breach it?"
Damien shook his head. "No. Let it scan me."
He placed his palm on the scanner.
A mechanical hiss followed. Then… silence.
The door slid open slowly, revealing a circular chamber with a single pedestal in the center—on it, the second Core shard, glowing faintly with violet light.
Then came the sound they didn't expect.
Clapping.
Three slow, deliberate claps.
From the shadows behind the pedestal, a figure emerged—masked, tall, and dressed in matte black tactical wear.
"You made it," the figure said, voice distorted through a voice modulator. "The second test… begins now."
Nora raised her weapon. "Who are you?"
The figure tilted their head. "A student of control. A builder of systems. You call me the Architect."
Then the lights went out.